Love it or hate it, JavaScript is the language of the web. Many programers view it as an inferior language that is riddled with fundamental design flaws. Others are obsessive about it’s capabilities.
Even though we’re very enthusiastic of JavaScript as language and it’s future in the role of the web, we tend to take a pragmatic approach for choosing where and how we approach JavaScript development.
As the saying goes when you have a hammer, everything is a nail. Many, many web development agencies are guilty of this. Whether it comes to choosing a JavaScript framework (React, Ember, Backbone, or Angular) or CMS solution (think of all the agencies that specialize in WordPress, Drupal, Expression Engine, Ruby on Rails, or Node.js)
A little bit of time ramping up for the right tool, pays off in the long run so we always ask a lot of questions, and think about how our decisions will play out in the long run. Important questions for any project when you’re thinking about relying heavily on JavaScript for application development:
- Do we actually need JavaScript?
- Will using JavaScript add value to the project in ways other languages can’t.
- Does a JavaScript MVC make sense for this application?
- Is JavaScript going to enhance the user experience for this particular application?
- How big of a role should JavaScript play?
- How well does a JavaScript framework fit with the long-term goals of our client’s application?
- Node.js
- Ember.js
- Backbone
- React
- jQuery plugins
- Custom JavaScript development
- Socket.io
We don’t do Angular, but we do use popular JavaScript task runners and build tools to help us work faster like:
- npm
- Webpack
- Gulp
- Grunt
- Broccoli